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"Sex and the City" fans have long debated whether or not Mr. Big was really Mr. Right for Carrie Bradshaw — especially when Aidan Shaw was her other obvious option.

But now there's no need for debate. The only person who really knows whether a laid-back and secure life with Aidan would have suited the leading lady has chimed in on the enduring argument.

Getty file, Everett collection

"You know, if she had ended up with Aidan, that could have been OK, I think," author — and real-life Carrie — Candace Bushnell told Cosmopolitan. "Aidan was a good guy, he was in love with her, she was in love with him."

Ultimately, though, they wanted different things. Aidan was ready for a happy home, whereas Carrie still craved something a little wilder.

But that was then.

"One of the things that I found in life is that sometimes when you're in your 20s or 30s and a relationship isn't right for you, sometimes you don't want that lifestyle and the strange thing that happens is when you get older, all of a sudden you realize, 'I'd be happy to have that conservative, more settled lifestyle,'" Bushnell explained. "For Carrie, Aidan represented settling down. And Big still represented the big adventure."

As for on-screen adventures, Bushnell hopes they continue in a third "Sex and the City" film, and she thinks she knows where Carrie and Big's adventures would lead them now.

"I think that they would probably be keeping apace with what's happening today," she said. "Well actually, if that were true, that would mean Mr. Big lost his job because he was middle aged, a lot of guys lose their job. Carrie would be taking up the slack. She would be working harder than ever and would probably be supporting Mr. Big."

And the rest of the mojito-loving gang?

"Samantha, I don't know, she should be like mayor of New York," Bushnell imagined. "Miranda would probably be advocating on the part of women for their rights on social media and to not get bullied… and Charlotte's kids would still be in school and she'd probably be on the board of the school."

Below, see what Cynthia Nixon had to say about Carrie's romantic fate when she discussed the show's finale on TODAY in 2004.